Lindy Chamberlain’s court artist

Tathra artist Veronica O’Leary was living in Darwin when she was swept up in the most notorious murder trial in Australia’s history.

When she heard that the ABC was looking for a court artist to document the Lindy Chamberlain trial for its television news coverage, she quickly put together a portfolio of sketches.

This was the second time the Chamberlains had faced court over the disappearance of their daughter Azaria from the family campsite in August 1980. In February 1981, the coroner had cleared them of any blame, and found that a wild dog or dingo had taken the baby.

But in 1982, the case was reopened. Lindy was committed to trial, accused of murdering her daughter. Her husband Michael was charged as an accessory after the fact.

Veronica says “the mood in Darwin was very volatile. People would stop you in the street, restaurants would break into fights. People from the very beginning took sides, and assumed they knew everything that had happened.”

While she knew she was getting involved in a high profile case, she no idea quite how intense it would be. Or that 30 years later, she would still be involved in the story.

For Veronica, the 1982 trial was the one and only time she had been a court artist. But in February this year, she decided to go back to Darwin, to document the fourth inquest into the cause of Azaria’s death. It is the result of a decades-long battle by the Chamberlains to correct the public record.

Veronica was nervous, reprising her role after 30 years, and fascinated to see the familiar faces of the Chamberlains, their lawyer Stuart Tipple, and key journalists she’d sat with so long ago. “We were all very different looking people.” The hearing was two and a half hours, with none of the drama, wigs and acrimony of the earlier trial.

Like she had done 30 years ago, Veronica sketched the key players. But this time they all made the same argument. “It’s time to correct the record. Azaria was taken by a dingo.”

Veronica O’Leary was interviewed by ABC Open contributor Chris Boyle for the video story above.

A selection of Veronica’s court drawings are now part of the collection of the National Museum of Australia. Veronica’s portrait of Lindy Chamberlain is currently hanging in the Shirley Hannon Salon des Refusés show at Spiral Gallery in Bega.

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